


The Black-Haired Girl

by brave_little_lioness94



Series: This Cruel Yet Beautiful World [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Eremika - Freeform, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-06
Updated: 2014-01-06
Packaged: 2018-01-07 18:24:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1122940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brave_little_lioness94/pseuds/brave_little_lioness94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren Yeager has recently moved into his own apartment, because the place where the marriage of his parents crumbled in front of him is no longer a home to him. Despite the hurt and anger of his past, Eren manages to stay positive in light of starting his first semester of college, as it is his first step in becoming a police officer. With his focus on this future career, he does not expect his mind and heart to be overtook by Mikasa Ackerman, a shy girl whose quiet nature and black hair captivates him during a train ride to school. Although she is withdrawn, Eren begins to befriend her little by little, learning more of her pain-filled past and helping her come to terms with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Black-Haired Girl

I’m standing in a field full of flowers, with the heat of the sun warming my face. It’s a really pretty place, but I’m not quite sure where I am or what I’m doing here. I don’t question it though, and instead wander around for a bit, admiring the butterflies flitting about together.  
“I used to think that meant you little guys were playing,” I smile to myself as I speak out loud to the insects, which flutter around me, “Or at least that’s what my father always told me when I asked him.”  
I look on a bit sadly as the butterflies float away together on a gentle breeze. The field of flowers begins to sway like a wave of yellow water and I feel like I’m standing in the middle of an ocean, “But I guess he told me a lot of things that weren’t true.”  
As if my words conjure him, my father appears before me.  
“What have I lied to you about, Eren?” He asked me calmly, tilting his head to the side.  
“I don’t have to tell you, Father. You know exactly what.” I speak tensely, staring down at the ground to avoid his gaze.  
“I don’t think I do, my son.”  
My fists clench at my side and I look up at him and exclaim angrily, “Don’t play the part of a fuckin’ fool, Dad, and don’t call me that. You don’t deserve to after leaving me and mom for that whore you worked with. You and your “late nights” at the office—what a fuckin’ pile of bullshit! How did me and mom not see it? While I was at home trying to take care of her all by myself, you were fucking your co-worker!”  
My anger is boiling over and I can’t stop the frustrated words and tears from spilling out, so I just let it happen, “You lied when you told mom you would be beside her when she was sick and you lied to me when you said our family meant the world to you. If that was true, you wouldn’t have left! You are the biggest piece of shit and I hope you burn in hell!”  
Dad is just staring at me, his expression unchanging and uncaring, just like it was those last few weeks he spent with us, when he too tired to keep up his façade—the one that showed he cared about me and Mom.  
“Eren…”  
All of a sudden, a shrill sound fills my head and the field of flowers and my father collapses into darkness around me.  
I bolt upward in bed, my heart racing. I reach up to my head and pull out my earbuds, which are blasting an alarm into my ears.  
“Damn it,” I sputter tiredly, wiping wetness from my eyes after tossing my phone aside, “I can’t fall asleep listening to music now that I have to get up at nine.  
Except when I look over again at my phone I see that it’s actually nine-twenty instead of nine and that I must have been sleeping through my alarm or set it for the wrong time.  
Either way, the train leaves at nine-thirty and if I didn’t get my ass moving, I’d miss it.  
I groan as I fling myself out of bed, only to land on the floor in a tangle of limbs and blankets.  
“SHIT! Even in my dreams my father fucks me over.” I grumble to myself as I straighten myself up and rush to my closet. I strip myself of my pajama bottoms and quickly throw on a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt. I don’t really feel like dressing like a lumberjack my first day of college but at this point I don’t have much of a choice.  
I rush over and grab my backpack, thankful I packed it with everything I needed the night before. I throw it on and quickly button my shirt. I snatch my phone from my bed and click it on, biting my lip as I see that I have eight minutes to make it to the train station. I will probably make it, but I will have to run.  
I slip on my Vans and a jacket and I’m out the door of my one-room apartment. Once it’s locked, I bolt down the stairs of the building and out into the street, moving as quick as my legs will take me. Dammit, Eren, this is not the best way to start your day. 

 

* * * *

 

I make it to the train station, but I don’t have time to stop and catch my breath because I see the train I need to be on filling with passengers in the near distance.  
“Shit, shit, shit,” I whisper fiercely as I quicken my stride.  
To my horror, I hear the faint ding from inside the train.  
“WAIT! Hold that door!” I exclaim, throwing my hand forward in order to liken my chances of catching it.  
I manage to reach the closing doors just in time with just enough room to slip my hand in between them, forcing them to re-open for me. Relief floods my system as I step inside the train. A large sigh escapes me as I fold my body over, resting my hands on my knees as I try to steady my breathing. I did it—I made it.  
“That was a close one. Almost missed the train on your first day of college. Way to be, Yeager, way to be.” I mutter to myself as I stand up straight.  
In the process of regaining my composure, I catch the dark eyes of a pretty, young woman. She quickly looks away from me and out the window of the train. The light filtering in from the glass catches on a head of black hair that matches her eyes, revealing shimmers of deep blues and violet in her locks.  
What a beautiful sight.  
I clear my throat, feeling weird for staring, and look around to find an open seat. However, it looks like I’ll have to stand since there seem to be no place left to sit. I shrug—oh well, that’s what I get for being late.  
I reach up and grab hold of the bar above me to prevent myself from falling over as the train begins to proceed. I wouldn’t say I’m a klutz, but I’m certainly the most graceful creature ever. And the last thing I want to do is fall over onto this pretty girl.  
I keep glancing down at her, admiring the way her hair catches the bright, white light coming off the snow outside. It reminds me of the song “Black Haired Girl,” which I think I was ironically listening to last night before I fell asleep:

 

Baby, baby, come on  
Before the summer is gone  
Black-haired girl…

Before I know it I am humming the lyrics and tapping my foot to the imaginary beat. The train ride hits a few small bumps and although I am trying my best to stay in my own space, my leg keeps lurching closer to the girl, who appears almost unnerved as she fidgets in her seat and clears her throat.  
Don’t bother her, Eren. It doesn’t look like she wants to be bothered.  
But something in me really wants to talk to her and I’m not really one for holding back so of course I do anyway.  
“Hey, are you a student?” I ask her, even though the sight of a backpack at her feet would clearly suggest so. She turns her head up toward me slowly, with an expression of dullness and maybe a bit of confusion. I offer her a small grin.  
“Yes.” She offers me a one-word answer in return and then is right back to looking out the window.  
“Me too!” I continue speaking although it really seems like she doesn’t care to hold a conversation with me. “I’m actually starting my first day of college classes today. I guess I’m a bit nervous, but really I’m more excited than anything. I hear it’s a lot better than high school; they don’t treat you like a child as much, you know?”  
“Yes.” She simply repeats herself, nonchalantly placing a strand of her pretty hair behind her ear, possibly because she’s playing hard-to-get using a calm, collected visage. Or possibly because she is annoyed. It is probably the latter of the two possibilities.  
Either way, I am curious about her dark hair. It is honest-to-goodness black, which I don’t see very often. When I do, I can tell that it’s simply dyed that way, but her hair looks pretty natural. That must mean she is Asian, or at least part Asian? Naturally, my curiosity gets the better of me, so I bring it up.  
“Wow, your hair is so dark,” I reach up to finger my hair, “I mean, my hair is a really dark shade of brown, but yours is actually black. Is that natural?”  
She sits there silently, her eyes glazing over. Oh no. You’re annoying her. Abort, abort.  
I should just stop talking to her now because I don’t want to bother her any more, but I really truly do think her hair is pretty, so I want to let her know. Maybe it will make her smile or at least put a little happiness in her day.  
“It’s very beautiful.” I let the words escape my lips.  
The girl looks up at me, a hint of surprise brightening her eyes and a cute, shade of pink tinting her porcelain cheeks.  
“Thank you.” She whispers quietly, avoiding my gaze as if embarrassed.  
“Oh, you’re welcome.”  
She looks forward, the blush on her cheeks lingering for a few moments longer.  
Okay, you bothered her enough. No more, Eren.  
I look around the train at the other passengers and at the posters on the wall. I even start reading some of the advertisements but no matter what I do I keep stealing glances at the black-haired girl, who seems like she is in her own world, face concentrated as she churns thoughts within her mind. Before I know it, I’m interrupting her thoughts once again.  
“So what school do you go to?”  
Oh, you fuckin’ fuck. Just leave her alone already.  
But she gives me an answer—one that actually gives me a surprise.  
“Maria Community College.”  
“Really?!” I exclaim with excitement. How convenient to meet someone else attending the same college as me on the train ride there!  
“That’s where I’m going!” I continue, a million questions buzzing through my mind. “Do you like it there? Is the campus nice? Are there any asshole professors I should look out for?”  
“I—um—it’s—”  
Her face is twisted in bewilderment and I realize that I have caught her off-guard with all my stupid questions. Now I feel really bad.  
I adjust my posture and clear my throat, feeling the need to in some way to apologize for my unnecessary outburst.  
“Sorry about that!” I laugh nervously, now afraid to disturb her further, “I didn’t mean to overwhelm you with all these questions.”  
And then I say something really fucking dumb, although in my head it sounds like a funny thing to mention, “My mom says I’m so full of energy that she could plug her phone into my ass and charge it.”  
Sweet Mother Teresa. What the actual hell am I thinking? What an idiotic thing to say out loud to a stranger—and to a pretty girl, at that. This is why you have never had a girlfriend, Eren. You have about as much appeal as a wet paper towel, you piece of crap.  
“Oh god—why am I telling you that?” I laugh in spite of myself, the heat of embarrassment spreading across my face. “Sheesh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you with all my weirdness.”  
I stand there in silence, fuming over my own stupidity and feeling like the biggest idiot on the planet. Not only have I managed to annoy this poor girl during the course of this short train ride, but now I’ve gone and made myself look like a fool.  
While I am screaming internally at my own social inadequacy, the robotic voice from above tells me that my college is at the next stop.  
Finally, this awkward, train-ride-from-hell is coming to a close.  
And yet…it’s kind of sad because I don’t want to have to say goodbye to this girl. Even though she is really quiet and maybe a little cold, there is something about her that interests me. But then again, there is also high chance that she never wants to see me again.  
She stands up as the train came to a stop and my heart reels in my chest. No! Don’t leave just yet!  
To keep her for a moment longer, I spurt something out, “Well, um, hey look, it was nice meeting you,” I press my hand against the train’s opening so it doesn’t shut on us and keep us from getting to where we needed to be. That would make me look like an even bigger ass.  
“My name is Eren Yeager, by the way. Maybe I will see you around?” Unlikely she will want to, but I make the nonchalant statement anyway. Why not shove the knife in deeper?  
She blinks up at me a few times, her eyes wide.  
Her reply is quiet. “Y-yeah.”  
I can’t help but smile and I’m sure I look foolish, “Sounds great. See ya!”  
And so, to avoid any further embarrassment, I rush from the train and choose a random direction to escape to. With a hefty sigh, I collapse onto a bench near a university map, which is actually convenient because I have no clue where my first class is. I let my face drop into my palms, shaking my head back and forth.  
“You’re name may mean ’hunter,’ but you’re a shitty one when it comes to the ladies.” I mumble into my hands, my voice a muffled garble.  
Well, whatever, I guess. I’m here at college to pursue education, not girls. If I want to be successful in my field, I have to focus. I won’t become a good police officer unless I work hard, so I have to keep my head on straight.  
Determined, I stand up and pull out my schedule to see where my first class of the day is. I stand there, trying to locate Shina Hall on the map. Finally, I place my finger on my destination, which is a short, easy walk north. In the reflection of the glass, I can see people shuffling about.  
And there it is: the ghostly image of the black-haired girl, going in the direction I apparently need to go in too.  
Well, great. If she sees me she’ll think I’m some kind of stalker.  
I try not to think much about it as I continue on the same path as her. Yet, all the while on my way to my first class, that song is playing in my head and I can’t help but hum along: 

I can never resist  
My little anarchist  
Black-haired girl…


End file.
